Mobile reforming plant



Get. 20, 1931. s, w U 1,828,382

MOBILE REFORMING PLANT Filed Oct. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l by E'.MzarenceJ/Vtlfiwn Oct. 20, 1931. 5, w R 1,828,382 I MOBILE REFORMINGPLANT Filed Oct. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 35/ lawreflce 6 Phi 202.

Oct. 20, 1931. L. s. WIL BUR 8,

MOBILE REFORMING PLANT Filed Oct. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 WJami/622095.779? a).

Oct. 20, 1931. L. s. WILBUR 1,823,332

MOBILE REFORMING PLANT Filed Oct. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 V; 71:7QJfjJZCQJmZZd/K Patentecl oct. 20, 1931 a UNITED STATES- LAWRENCE s.wrmzun, E nvANsrON, rnrmors nssrononmo rmrronAL BAIL kroxn r,

CORPORATION, OF C IOAG JI INOIS, 'A conronnrron or, rumors MOBILEREFORMING LELAN'I Application filed October 7, 1929. SerialNo. 397,879.

This invention relates generallyto the reforming or reclaiming ofworn-outrailway service partsas, for example, rail splice bars.

In track maintenance in railroad systems,

particularly where the traflic is heavy, the worn-Out rail splice barsmust be frequently replaced in Order to prevent loose, bumpy and noisyjoints. The procedure is usually to remove the worn. plates andsubstitutenew 1o ones, the worn plates being collected and piledalong'the right of way. If the plates are not too much worn, they canreadily be restored to usefulness by being reformed. in a hydraulic orhydro-pneumatic press. However,

such reforming machinery is not always close by and if the worn barsmust be shipped a considerable distance for reforming-treatment and thenreturned, a point'is reached where it would be cheaper to buy new barszo-than to reform the worn bars. The important Object of my invention isthe production of a mobile reforming plant, that is, a complete plant onwheels so that it can'be drawn alone or in a train to the point on theright of way where worn splice bars are to be replaced, so

that these worn bars can be reformed and restored to usefulness directlyon the, job.

One important feature of my invention is the adaptation of the plantapparatus and freight car dimensions. 7

Another important feature is the inclusion in such plant, not only offorging or pressingmechanism, but also an annealingfurnace, andretemperi ng apparatus, together with conveyor mechanism forautomatically carrying the bars from one field of operation to the next.a

Another important feature of the invention is the disposition orLalinement Of the equipment to the space afforded by ordinary able ordetachable to be stowed insidethe cars in order to permit the cars to beclosed when the plant is not in operationand is being transported. i p

A further feature of importance is the 5.! adaptation of walls of thecar for swinging or Othermovement to provide additional floor space andsheltering roof thereover.

The above enumerated and other features M of myiinvention are shownincorporated in the structure disclosed on the drawings, in whichdrawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of one car'containing the splice;barconveyor' and annealing apparatus v 1 a v t t Figure 2. is a similarsection of a second car containing the pressure reforming mechanism andthe retempering apparatus; v Figure 3 is a section on line III-+111, of;Figure 1; t

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectionaliview of the car of Figure 2 showingthe reforming mechanism and retempering mechanism in plan elevation; i t-o Figure 5' is-an enlarged [section online V-V of Figure 1; I 1 tFigure 6 is an enlarged section on line V]I'VI of Figure 2 o A Figure 7is an enlarged horizontal sec.- tional view of the coupled ends of thecars 6 of Figures 1 and 2, showing the annealing apparatus and,reforming apparatus and the interconnecting conveyor mechanism .Figure 81s a vertlcal section of the coupled ends of the cars showmg theanneala5 'ing apparatus and reforming apparatus in side elevation; VFigure 9 is a side elevation of the end of a .chute'showing thesupporting hook arrangement. v

Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional: view on plane'X-'X oflFigure 3. r

The plan shown comprises two cars A and B in which the variousapparatuses are distributed. The cars Aand B eachcomprise a suitablechassisl mounted on trucks 2 and supporting a floor '3. In the car A islocated the annealing furnace designatedyas a whole by'C. It comprisesthe bed 4 and the top wall or arch 5, preferably built up of suitableheat refractory material. The furnace is supported on steel cross beams6 resting on the floor of the car. The front wall 7 of the furnace hasthe inlet opening 8 above the end of the wall l and the wall d inclinesdownwardly toward the rear end of the furnace as clearly shown inFigure 1. The top wall 5 extends rearwardly a distance beyond the bedwall a and is connected with the rear wall 9 by the inclined or slopingdeflector wall 10.

Framework 11 extends across the furnace from the lower end of the rearwall. 9 to within a short distance of the inner end of the wallet andsupports a grating or tuyere structure 12 for the flow of-air into thefurnace. The wall 9 has the inlet passage 13 through which combustiblesuch as gas or oil is delivered by a suitable injecting device 14mounted on the wall 9 in front of the passage 13. The injectedcombustible is mixed with air flowingupwardly through the tuyerestructure 12 and the combustion mixture is ignited and the flamesdcfiected and drawn through the furnace, the products of combustionescaping through a suitable stack 15 rising from the front end of thefurnace. The flame and heat are directed against the bed wall 4 on whichare secured guides 16, shown in the form of rail lengths for supportingthe splice bars or other objects to be annealed.

At the end of the car A in front of the furnace located a supportine'frame 17 on top of which is cross shaft 18 journalled in .nace inletopening: 8. At one end the shaft has a sprocket wheel 20 connected by achain belt 21 with the sprocket pinion of a motor 22. Between theprojectin ends of the rails 16. the shaft carries a pair of sprocketwheels 23 connected by chain belts 24- with a pair of "sprocket wheels25 on shaft 26 journalled in the outer end of a frame 27 which its innerend is connected to the shaft 18 to swing relative thereto. The adjacentend wall of the car has an opening or doorway 28'through which-the frame2? extends. and when the apparatus is in use the frame is inclined andextends downwardly close to the ground and it is supported insuchinclined position by the cross bar on the frame 17. The chain belts 24have the carrier fingers 30 which receive thesplice bars to be reformedand when the belts travel the bars are carried upwardly and deposited bythecarrier fingers sonto the projecting ends of the rails 16., and

the bars are then shifteddownwardly along the inclined rails and throughthe furnace to be heated and annealed preparatory for thereformingoperation in the press.

Referring to Figures 3 and 10, a simple means is shown for shifting thebars through the furnace. A pusher member 100 is provided supported byand shiftable on a sup port 101. The pusher member has the opening 102for receiving the cam 103 secured to the shaft 18 so that as the shaftrotates the pusher is reciprocated laterally. Referring to Figure 10,the pusher member is Withdrawn and a bar 6 has just been deposited onthe rails 16 by the conveyor chain 24:. As the shaft 18 continues torotate the cam 103 will shift the pusher member into engagement with thebar I) so that this bar together with the bars in advance thereof areshifted along the rails 16 to make way for the next bar carried up. bythe chain 24.

Provision is preferably made for stowing this carrier or conveyorstructure in the in terior of the car when. the plant is not in use. Toaccomplish this, the frame 27 may be made detachable from the shaft 18as for example by means of hooks 31 at the inner ends of the frame whichcan be readily hooked over the shaft 18 when the conveyor is to be used.Such arrangement is shown in F i gure 9. When the frame is unhooked fromthe shaft the chain belts 24: will slacken and then the frame can belaid down in the car A alongside the furnace structure.

In the adjacent end of the car B, which is coupled to the car A bysuitable coupler nechanism 32, is located the forming press designatedas a whole D. Such press comprises a base 33 and a reciprocating head orram 34 slidable on the posts 35. The rain may be reciprocatedmechanically, hydraulically or pneumatically. or by a. combination ofsuch forces delivered by suitable mechanism driven by a motor 36. Thebase and ram of the press support suitable die memhers 37 and 38 forreceiving and reforming the hot annealed splice bars. The treated barsare delivered from the furnace to the press by a chute structure shownas comprising side Walls 39 and 40 connected by cross shafts ll on whichjournal rollers 42. On the furnace structure and on the base of thepress are secured the vertically slotted brackets 13 and 4.4respectively which receive the projecting ends of the end shafts of thechute to thus support the chute for the travel alon the rollers of theheated bars on their way to the press. A sheet metal apron extends fromthe inner end of the bed wall i of the furnace toward the chute andforms an incline down which the bars travel after leavinn the end of thefurnace rails 16.

In the arrangement shown, the press is adapted to receive the splicebars end on, but when the heated bars leave the furnace they are atright angles to the chute structure. To turn the bars so that they willreach the chute parallel therewith, a turning pin 40 is provided on theapron 45 which engages with and holds one end of the bars and causesthem to swing'around 90' degrees into parale lelism with thechutesot-that they will be de' livered' end; onto 7. the press; The chute isslightly lower at the pressend so that the (bars will travel by gravitytoward'the press.

As the bars travel along the chute rollers the loose scale or otherforeign matter thereon will drop therefrom. The bars can be thoroughlycleaned by means of a wire brush or other apparatus while theyaretraveling along the chute so thatwhen they enter the press they will beclean for accurate reformingoperation. Sections A? and l8 of theadjacent end walls of the cars A and B may behinged tobe swung down toform a continuation of the car floors to furnish adequate footing forthe workmen at the chute structure and around the press.

The workman sees that abar is accurately positioned on the lower diemember 37 and then starts the ram to bring down the upper die member andthe hot annealed bars will thenbe reformed. During such reformingoperation in the press, the bolt holes ofthe I bars may become distortedand I therefore preferably provide a suitablemachine l9 driven by amotor for operating a suit able tool 51to engage through the bolt holesand restore them to normal. Guide rails 52 maybe provided for supportingthe bars on their way from the press to the hole reforms ing machine.

After annealing and reforming of the splice bars, they must beretempered' and.

cooled. For this purpose I provide an oil bath in a suitable tank 53mounted in the car Bin alinement with the forming machine. Atthe, bottomof this tank at the ends thereof are shafts 54 and 55 having sprocketwheels 56' for driving a pair of parallel carrier chain belts 57 and 58.At

therear end of the tank and at the top thereof is journalled a driveshaft 59 driven by a chain belt 60 from an electric motor 61.

belts having carrier fingers and serving to receive the reformed barsfrom the reforming machine and to hoist them for delivery into the oilbath, an apron 69 receiving the bars and guiding them ontothe carrierbelts- 57 and 58 in the bath tank. Guide rails 7 0 support the bars ontheir way from the Ina-1 chine 49 to the belts 65, the bars being positioned by the workman so that they will be received crosswise by thebelts 65 and travel in this position with the belts 57 and58.

As the reformed bars are carried through the oil on the belts 57 and 58,they are retempered and cooled, and at the end of the tank they arereceived by the carrier fingers 71 on the belts 62 and hoisted out ofthe tank and delivered to an apron 72 from which they slide onto thechute structure 73 which extends laterally and downwardly through anopening 7 4 in the side of the car, and the finished bars travellengthwise on the chute and are deposited on the ground or in a suitablereceptacle. .The chute 7 3preferably has rollers 75 so that the barswill readily travel down the chute, and the chute may be detachablysupported by a bracket structure 76 on the end of the tank 53, so thatwhen the apparatus is not in use the chute can be removed and placedwithin the car.

V Inorder to keep the oil in the tank 53 cool, I circulate it through apiping coil 77in the cooling tank 78 supported at the top of the carabove the tank 53, and water or ice in the tank 78 may serve as thecooling med um. 1

The motor 61 which drives the various belts for carrying thereformedbars to and from the tank 53 isalso connected to drive a pump 79for circulating'the oil through the coil 77 The pump draws the oilthrough the piping 80 and delivers it to the coil 77 through a pipe81,'the cooled oil returning to the tank 53 through the pipe'82.

As clearly shownin Figures 5 and 6, the

side walls of the cars are divided into upper" sections 83 hinged alongthe top of the cars,

and lower sections 84 hinged along the'fioor 1 of the cars. hen theplant is in operation, the sections 83 are elevated to formcontinuations of the roof of the car and when the sections 84 arelowered to horizontal posi-' tion they form extensions to the floor ofthe car. The floor space for the workmen is thus increased and they areprotected overhead,

and thecars will be well ventilated. As already explained, thehinged'end wall sections 47 and 48 of the cars will, when swung down,form flooring space between the car ends.

Briefly repeating the operation of the plant, .the worn-out splice barsare fed to the carrier beltson the hoisting frame 27 and delivered tothe projecting ends of the guiderails within the annealing furnace, andthe bars travel slowly throi'igh'the furnace to be thoroughly annealedand prepared for thereforming operationin the press. As the bars leavethe furnace they encounter the turning pin 46 and they swing around onthe zit apron 45 to be parallel with the chute struc I ture 39 40 alongwhich they travel by grav ity to the press D where they are properlylocated relative to the die members tofbe re formed when the press ramis forcibly brought down. 1 The bars are then transmitted to the machine49 which restores their bolt holes to normal and then the bars arehoisted f by the carrier belts 65 to the apron 69 down which they slideto the carrier belts 57 and 58, and on their passage through the oil inthe tank 53 the bars are retempered and cooled. The hoisting belts 62then receive the bars and hoist them up and deposit them on the apron 72from which they fall onto the chute structure 73 to be delivered to theground or into a suitable receptacle.

lVhen the plant is to be transported, the hoisting structure 27 isunhooked from the shaft 18 and stowed away inside of the car A as hasalready been explained. The chute structure 39 is removed from itssupporting brackets a3 and 44: and also stowed inside of the car, andlikewise the chutestructure 7 3 is detached and stowed inside of the carB. The hinged sections of the car walls are then swung back into normalposition to close the cars. The cars then can be coupled to a locomotiveor in a train so that the reforming plant can be transported to someother field of operation.

I thus produce a compact reforming plant which can be readilytransported to the location where a track is being repaired and wornsplice bars are to be removed, so that the bars can be reformed on thejob and reapplied to the rails.

I do not, of course, desire to be limited to the exact construction,arrangement and operation disclosed and described as changes andmodifications are possible without departing from the scope andprinciple of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a mobile reforming plant of the class described, the combinationof two railway cars, a furnace in one of said cars for heating theobjects to be reformed, a reforming press and a cooling bath in theother car, conveyor mechanism for conveying to said furnace the objectsto be heated, a detachable chute for conveying the heated objects fromthe furnace to the press, conveyor mechanism for receiving the reformedobjects from the press and for conveying them to the cooling bath andfor discharging the objects from said bath, and means for receiving anddelivering the discharged objects.

2. In a mobile reforming plant for reforming worn-out splice bars, thecombination of two railway cars, an annealing furnace in the first car,reforming press mechanism in said second car, a cooling bath in saidsecond car, conveyor mechanism in said first car extensible through anend thereof forreceiving worn bars and conveying them to said furnace, adetachable chute extending between the cars for conveying the heatedbars to the press mechanism, conveyor mechanism for receiving thereformed bars and conveyingthem to and from said cooling bath, and adetachable chute extending out- Wardly from said second car fordelivering the cooled finished bars to the exterior.

3. In a bar reforming plant, the combination of an annealing furnace,press structure, a chute for conveying the heated bars from said furnaceto said press structure, means for causing the bars to travel sidewisethrough said furnace, and means at the outlet of said furnace forautomatically turning said bars to cause travel thereof lengthwise onsaid chute and into said press structure.

I. In a bar reforming plant, a railway car, a furnace extendinglengthwise of said car, a conveyor shaft j ournalled in said car adjacent to the inlet end ofsaid furnace, a frame detachably connected atits inner end to said shaftand adapted to extend through the end of saidcar toward the ground, means for driving said shaft, a second shaftournalled on the outer end of said frame, sprocket wheels on said shaftand conveyor belts thereon having conveyor fingers, said belts servingto receive objects to be heated and to convey them to the furnace, saidframe by hooking engagement with said shaft being adapted to be unhookedand stored inside of said car, a chute structure detachably secured tothe rear end of said furnace and extensible through the adjacent end ofthe car to receive heated objects from the furnace and deliver them tothe exterior of the car, and means for guiding the heated objects fromsaid furnace onto said chute.

5. In a bar reforming plant, the combina tion of a railway car, afurnace extending lengthwise in said car, a drive shaft journalled insaid car adjacent to the inlet end of said furnace, a conveyor structurecomprising conveyor belts driven from said shaft, and a frame havingdetachable connections with said shaft and adapted to be extendedoutwardly through the adjacent end of said car or to be detached andstowed within the car, and a chute extending from the inner end i ofsaid furnace through the adjacent end of the car for delivering heatedobjects to the exterior of the car, said chute being detachable wherebyit may be stored within the car.

6. In a reforming plant of the class described, the combination of arailway car, a furnace extending lengthwise of said car, a driving shaftjournalled adjacent to the inlet end of said furnace, conveyor mechanismComprising conveyor belts driven from said shaft and a supporting frameextensible through the adjacent end of said car to the exterior toreceive objects to be heated and convey them to the furnace, said framebeing detachable whereby it may be stowed within travel sidewise throughsaid furnace, an apron extending from the furnace outlet to said chute,means for turning the bars on said apron to cause them to travellengthwise on said chute, and a support for said chute,said chute beingdetachable from said support whereby it may be stored within the carwhen not in use.

7. In a bar reforming plant, the combination of an annealing furnace,means for feeding bars to be heated to said furnace and for causing themto travel sidewise through the furnace, a delivery chute extending fromthe outlet of the furnace, an apron for guiding the bars to said chute,and anabutment on said apron in the path of one end of the bars as theyissue from said furnace for causing said bars to turn on said apron intoposition to travel lengthwise along said chute;

8. In a bar reforming plant, the combination of a railway car, pressstructure at one end of said car, means for feeding heated bars throughthe adjacent end of said car and to said press structure to be reformedtherein, a cooling bath extendinglengthwise of said car in alinement'with said press structure, conveyor mechanism for receiving thereformed. bars from said press structure and conveying them through andfrom said bath, and a delivery chute extending from the end of said bathdownwardly and laterally through the side of said car to deliver thefinished bars.

9. Ina bar reforming plant, the combination of a railway car, pressstructure at one end of said car, means for feeding heated bars throughthe adjacent end of said car and to said press structure to be reformedtherein, a cooling loath extending lengthwise of said car in alinementwith said press structure, conveyor mechanism for receiving the reformedbars from said press structure and conveying them through andfrom saidbath, and a delivery chute extending from the end of said bathdownwardly and laterally 7 through the side of said car to deliverthefinished bars, said chute being detachable whereby it may be storedwithin the car when not in use. p

10. In a bar reforming plant, the combination of a railway'car, pressstructure at one end of said car and a cooling bath extending lengthwisealong the other part of the car, means for feeding heated bars into theend of said car to said press structure to be reformed therein, conveyormechanism com prising conveyor belts and supporting shaft therefor saidconveyor mechanism receiving the reformed bars and conveying themthrough and from said bath, a discharge chute extending from thedischarge end of said bath for receiving the finished bars anddelivering them to the exterior of the car, a cooling coilfor the bathfluid, a pump for circulating the fluid through said cooling coil, and amotor for drivingsaid conveyor mechanism and said pump;

; -11. A mobile bar reforming plant comextensible fronifthegfirst cjartoward the ground forconveying worn bars to the furnace, pressstructure: in said second car at the coupled end thereofand a coolingbath extending lengthwise in the other part:of said car, a transferchute extending fromthe furnace outlet in the first car and to the pressstructure in the second car for transferring the heated bars from thefurnace to the press;

structure for the reforming operation, conveyor mechanism comprisingconveyor belts for receiving the reformed bars and conveying themthrough and from said bath, a de-' livery chute for receiving the barsdischarged from said bath and conveying them to the exterior" of thecar, a cooling coil for the bath fluid, a pump for circulating the fluidthrough said coil, and a motor for driving said pump and said bathconveyor mecha-& nism.

12. In a mobile reformingplant, the combination of two railway carscoupled together, an annealing furnace extending lengthwise in the firstcar, press structure and a cooling bath located in the other'car,hoisting conveyor mechanism extensible from the end of the first car forconveying worn bars to the furnace, a chute extending between the carsfor conveying the heated bars to the structure, conveyor mechanism forrecelving the reformed bars and conveying them through and from thecooling bath, a chute structure for receiving the cooled bars anddelivering them to the exterior of said second;

car, hinged wall sections for-the adj acent ends of the cars adapted tobe swung downwardly to form floor space between the cars in continuationof the floors of the cars, and the side walls of said cars being dividedinto lower sections and upper sections, said lower sections being hingedalong the floor line of the cars to be swung downwardly to form extendedfloor space, and the upper sections being hinged along the tops of thecars to be swung upwardly to form overhead provtection for the'extendedfloor space.

13. A mobile reforming plant for the purpose described comprising aconveyance, an

annealing furnace and a reforming press and a cooling bath n saidconveyance, means for automatically conveying bars to be reformed tosald furnace, means for conveying the bars through the furnace,'meansfor automatically conveying the bars from the furnace to said press,means for automatically conveying the bars from saidvpress to andthrough said bath, and means for automatically receiving the bars fromsaid bath and conveying them to the exterior. of said conveyance.

f 14. A mobile reforming plant for reforming Worn out railway splicebars, comprising a conveyance, a furnace-device, a press de- I vice, apunch device, and a cooling bath de- 5 vice, said devices being allmounted in a row in said conveyance, and means for succ'es-j "sivelyconveying splice bars through said devices. y y In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto sub i0; scribed my name at Chicago, Cook County,

Illinois.

LAWRENCE S; WILBUR;

